Fruit-stoning machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

P. MAISONNEUVE.

FRUIT STONING MACHINE.

No. 435,651. Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

61% tzww ls PETCRS co., mow-mum, wAsmMcrcq u c 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

P. MAISONNEUVE.

FRUIT STONING MACHINE.

Patented Sept. 2, 1890.

Mmmssea mums 6? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL HAISONNEUVE, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

FRUlT-STONING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 435,651, dated September 2, 1890.

Application filed December 2, 1889. Serial No. 332,307. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, PAUL nAIsoNNEUvE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fruit-Stoning Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists in the several novel features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter shown and described, and definitely pointed out in the claims.

The nature of my improvements and the mode in which I proceed to reduce them to practice are set forth in the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front view of the entire machine; Fig. 2, a side elevation looking from the right of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a plan taken on line a: as, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a plan of the feedtrough and fruit-receivers; Fig. 5, a broken vertical section taken on line 3 y, Fig. 1, looking from the right of the latter figure; Fig. 6, a detail view of one of the oscillating knives; Fig. 7, a bottom View of the vertically-reciprocating knife and scrapers; Fig. 8, a side view of the same; Fig. 9, a partlybroken perspective view taken from a point to the left of Fig. 1; Fig. 10, a broken enlarged perspective View showing how the points of the lower vibrating knives enter the recesses of the scrapers carried by the upper vertically-reciprocatin g knife, and Fig. 11 a similar View showing how the vibrating knives pass one on each side of the vertically-reciprocating knife as the latter descends.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts throughout all the views.

A represents an ordinary table into which mortises are cut at suitable intervals for the reception of chutes B B, and an outlet 0 through which the flesh and pits are respectively discharged after the fruit has been slit open and stoned.

The Working parts of the machine are borne or supported by a post D and a bed-plate E, which are screwed or otherwise secured to the table.

The plate E is provided with a central opening to allow the pit-outlet O to project through, and from its ends rise boards or uprights F F, united by bars f f On the top of F rests the feed-trough G, and to the sides of F are secured the fruit-receivers H H.

The trough G is set on an incline to facilitate the discharge of the fruit, which is made to roll down into the receivers H, where it is stopped at a point directly under the knife I by the checks J. These consist of two thin flexible metallic strips attached by their outer ends to the top of the upright F, from which they project at about a right angle, their inner ends being bent down and gently curved so as to present a suitable striking-surface for the fruit. Side guards or standards K K attached to the upright F keep the feed-trough from sliding 01f the latter. They further afford a convenient means of regulating the inclination of G, as they are provided with vertical slots (see Figs. 1 and 9) up or down which fixed pins g on the sides of the trough may be moved and set at the requisite height by thumb-nuts a a.

The receivers H are made of tin-plate or similar flexible metal, and fastened by their outer ends only, leaving their inwardly-projecting ends free to swing laterally, in order to afford a passage for the flesh of the fruit after it has been separated from the stone, as will be explained farther on. The latternamed ends are also curved in at their lower edges, which are brought nearly together, and thus adapted to receive and hold up the fruit as it rolls down from the feed-trough. Sufficient space, however, is left between the curved portions of the receivers H to permit the insertion and free action of the knife I, the knives L L, and the tops of the slides R hereinafter described. A notch, Figs. at and 9, may also be cut into the inner end of the trough for the same purpose, if necessary. The relative position of these parts is plainly shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5, and also in Fig. 9; but in the latter figure one of the receivers H and one of the checks J have been broken away to give a clearer view of the parts behind and under them.

The knife I is made of two parts or blades secured to a bar I and having inwardlycurved edges, as represented in Figs. 1, 9, and 11, adapted to embrace nearly the whole of the fruit when brought down over it The right blade is shorter at the point than the left, and thus permits the fruit to get under the knife Iwithout raising the latter to an unnecessary height. It is also made broader in the upper part and outwardly projecting at the outer top corner, so as to present an inclined or downwardly-receding side to the fruit coming down the trough G. This is done to avoid bruising the fruit, for, as will be pointed out when speaking of the operation of the machine, the fruit first encounters the knife I at the upper corner of its right blade, and were the outer side' of this blade Vertical the fruit would be subjected to a great deal of friction upon the raising of the knife, against which it is driven by its own weight, whereas by having the blades side downwardly receding the fruit is gradually let down the incline until the knife is out of the way, and there is little or no friction produced. Each blade has a prong b integral with itself and set at a right angle to it. These prongs project from each side of the knife I down to a little below the point of divergence of the blades, and are adapted to hold the pits of the fruit firmly while the knives perform their functions. Scrapers M M, recessed in and cut away for about half their width at the bottom, (see Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10,) are attached to I above the prongs b, so as to release the flesh from the stones of the fruit and clear the knives L L, as will be explained more fully when describing the operation of the machine. The arm or bar I, carrying the knife 1, passes through a groove or channel in the casing or block N at the end of the overhanging arm 0, which projects from the post D. A grooved bar 0, laid across and secured to the bar I, furnishes means whereby the latter can be retained in position and the knife I given a reciprocating rectilinear vertical motion.

The actuating mechanism is composed of the shaft P, which is laid in suitable bearings lengthwise of the arm 0, and of the crank-wheels d and e, which are keyed to the ends of this shaft. The crank-pin e of wheel 6, which engages the groove in the bar 0, is provided with a roller 6 so as to reduce the friction to a minimum.

The knives LL, previously mentioned, and shown in detail in Fig. 6, are laid with their edges upward into vertical slits in the end pieces F F, to which they are pivoted and through which they may vibrate in a vertical plane. They are pivoted so as to bring their inner ends together between the fruit-receivers H, above the lowermost edge of which they project a little. Enough space is left between them to allow for the passage of the prongs b of the vertically-reciprocating knife I. L is adapted to pass in the rear of I when the latter is brought down, while Lpasses in front, as illustrated in Fig. 11. This movement is easily performed, owing to the fiexibility of the blades of the pivoted knives, and is produced by bending the blade-points of the vertiCally-reciprocating knife in opposite directions, so that they will straddle the knives L L, which are consequently pushed aside in the descent of the knife I. The same result may be accomplished by setting the knife I obliquely on the bar I. Guidesvlt' on each side of the pivoted knives prevent their points from being swayed out too much from any cause whatever. The knives L L are kept in their habitual position and regulated through the medium of the adjustable bolts Q Q, pivotally connected with their outer ends. A nut 25 and cheek-nut t, bearing upon the bed-plate E, keep these bolts from going too far down, and consequently the inner ends of L L from swinging up, while spiral springs h, wound around the lower ends of Q and confined between the under side of the table A and a nut h and check-nut h bring down the bolts and the outer ends of the shank of the pivoted knives to their usual place after the inner ends of'L L have been depressed and relieved. I prefer hanging the knives L L by curves Z on the top edges of their shanks, as shown, as this arrangement allows the production of a wider gap between their inner ends when they are lowered, with a less depression than if the pivots were passing through their centers.

The letter R represents slides which are i set obliquely in suitable recesses formed in the upper side bars f and rise from the chutes B B to within the space left between the fruit-receivers H 011 each side of the pivoted knives. These slides swing upon pivots r, and they are adapted to lead the flesh of the fruit down to the chutes after it has been removed from the pits, the pits being expelled through the opening left at the point where they meet. The slides are adjusted with relation to each other and returned to their normal position when displaced by the pits through the medium of spiral springs jj, attached by one end to holes in their outer edge and by the other to the uprights F F.

The automatic feeder used in connection with my improved machine is made as follows: A couple of bent fingers Z Z are adjustably secured to a spindle m, which is set between the guards K K above the feed-trough. A spring 'n, coiled around this spindle, and one end of which is made fast thereto and the other end brought to bear against the outside of the upright F, habitually checks the rotation of m and forces the fingers Z down. The spindle is rotated and the fingers lifted to allow the rolling of the fruit down the trough G by means of a lever S, pivotally fulcrumed to an arm 0, which is nothing but an extension of the standard K. A link 19 connects one end of S to a loop in one of the fingers Z, while the other end is bent at a right angle at q, Fig. 9, so as to lie in the way of the grooved bar 0, which is thus enabled to depressthe lever at every revolution of the shaft P and crank-wheels d and 6. Thus every time that the bar 0 and the knife I are brought down the feeder is raised, and vice versa. Holes are provided at several places in the arm and the lever S, in order that the latter may be adjusted horizontally and vertically, as circumstances may demand.

My pitting-machine is operated in the following manner: Taking the parts in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2, or 9, it will be seen that if fruit be put into the trough it will run down against the fingers Z of the feeder, where it will be held in check, as illustrated by a small circle in Fig. 1. If, now, motion be imparted to the actuating mechanism and the wheel e revolved, the grooved bar 0 will be forced down, and with it the knife I, bearing down upon the lever S at the same time. This will lift the fingers l of the feeder and allow just one apricot or other fruit to pass under and run down against the projecting corner of the right blade of the verticallyreciprocating knife. The machine being kept going the bar 0 is raised, the lever S released, the fingers Z are brought down owing to the tension of the spring 91, and the fruit back of the feeder-fingers is again held in check. The knife I being lifted in the meanwhile, the fruit that has been allowed to pass between it and the feeder now rolls onto the receivers II, where it is stopped by the checks J. As I is brought down in the next revolution of the wheel e, its blades embrace and sink into the flesh of the fruit and keep it in a true position until the prongs b have pierced it from the top and seized the pit. Vhile the two-bladed knife is cutting the fruit from above the pivoted knives also cut it from beneath till the flesh has been penetrated all around and the stone encircled. The scrapers M M then come into operation.. Their lower portion being brought down upon the fruit as the knife I goes down, they forcibly remove the flesh from the stone and push it against the free ends of the receivers H, which give way and let it fall down the slides B into the chutes B B. In the meantime the pit, having been seized by the prongs b, cannot follow the flesh, but is forced down the outlet 0 through the gap left between the slides R and the opening produced by the oscillation of the pivoted knives, which it causes to vibrate. The pit having been pushed through, the spiral springs h quickly throw back the knives L L to their place and let them into the recesses of the scrapers M M,

thereby clearing their blades. L is let into the recess formed between M. and the vertically-reciprocating knife, and L into that formed between I and M through the cuts in the lower portions of the scrapers, as is plainly shown in Fig. 10. Thus the machine works as long as fruit is fed to it.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The knife I, composed of two blades having inwardly-curved edges and side prongs b projecting down to a little below the point of divergence of said blades, substantially as shown, for the purposes specified.

2. A fruit-stoning machine comprising a vertically-reciprocating two-bladed knife I, the right blade of which has its outer side inclined or downwardly receding from the upper corner, so as to avoid friction with the fruit coming in contact therewith, substantially as described.

3. A fruit-stoning machine comprising a vertically-reciprocating two-bladed knife I, side prongs b thereon, pivoted knives L L, adapted to cut oppositely to said two-bladed knife, and means to operate the same, substantially as described.

4. A fruit-stoning machine comprising a vertically-reciprocating knife, pivoted knives cutting oppositely thereto, operating-connections, and scrapers upon each side of said vertically-reciprocating knife adapted to clear the blades of said pivoted knives, substantially as described.

5. A fruit-stoning machine comprisingfruit receivers or holders, a vertically-reciprocating knife to embrace and cut the fruit from above, side prongs on said knife to seize the fruit stone, pivoted knives to cut the fruit from underneath, an actuating mechanism, and scrapers upon each side of said vertically-reciprocating knife above said prongs adapted to remove the flesh from the stone of said fruit, substantially as described.

6. In a fruit-stoning machine, the combina tion of the vertically-reciprocating knife I, operating-connections, pivoted knives L L, and guides c i, substantially as described.

7. In a fruit-stoning machine, the combination of the fruit-receivers H, checks J, knife I, and actuating mechanism, substantially as described.

8. In a fruit-stoning machine, the combination of the flexible laterally-swinging fruitreceivers II, vertically-reciprocating knife I, operating-connections, pivoted knives L L, and pivoted adjustable slides R, substantially as described.

9. In a fruit-stonin g machine, the automatic feeder composed of the spindle m, support therefor, bent fingers Z Z, spring 91., arm 0, link 1), lever S, and operating mechanism, substantially as described.

his PAUL MAISONNEUVE. [L. s.]

mark Witnesses:

Trros. S. HARLoE, EMMA A. HAVEN. 

